Becoming Human
by Cleon Heartfell
Summary: When an old friend of Grunkle Stan's appears out of nowhere, it appears a new evil has risen in Gravity Falls. Alliances will change, and enemies will become friends. I suck at summaries, so just read it!
1. Chapter 1- Leave

**HI ALL! i really wanted to write this fic, so here we go!**

* * *

Dipper and Mabel ran into the house. "Hi, Grunkle Stan, what's for dinner?" Dipper called. No response.

"Grunkle Stan?" Mabel called.

The twins walked into the living room. Stan was sitting on the couch, talking to a young woman with long, indigo hair and dark blue eyes and appearing to be in her mid-twenties. The woman was obviously upset about something, and Stan seemed to be in the process of calming her down.

"Who's this?" Dipper asked.

The woman was the first to notice the twins. She smiled weakly at them. "You must be Dipper and Mabel," she said. "I'm Celeste."

Mabel walked over to the pair. "Are you ok?" she asked. "How do you know Grunkle Stan?"

Celeste laughed. "Oh, we've known each other for a long time. I've always given him help when he needs it."

"And that's why you should let me help you this time," Stan said. "How do you know you'll find what you're looking for over there? What if that person comes back to steal the rest of your power?"

"Wait, power?" Dipper asked. She looked human, but then again, this _was_ Gravity Falls...

Celeste shrugged. "Well, I _am_ a demon."

Dipper's eyes widened. He looked ticked that a demon was in their home. Stan held up a hand. "Hang on a sec, Dipper! She's not like the Dorito, so calm down!"

Celeste chuckled. "Dorito... Cipher's gonna _hate_ that."

"You know him?" Dipper asked, still cautious.

She nodded. "Trapped him in the mindscape a couple decades ago. Still, he gets his power from me... so, yeah, I know him."

"So, you're his mother or something?" Mabel asked.

"Or something."

"Why are you human?" Dipper asked

"Not all demons look like one-eyed triangles, Dipper. Some of us, such as myself, are still somewhat human. Of course, it helps that someone stole most of my power recently."

"Who?"

Celeste shrugged. "No clue. Couldn't see them, just heard some weird chanting. Instincts took over, and I fought to keep as much of my power as I could." She sighed. "Now I need to find a way to get it back."

"Are you going to go look somewhere?" Mabel asked.

She nodded. "There's a library off the coast. It doesn't appear on maps or GPS, and it holds more information on the supernatural than anywhere else."

"If it's not on maps or GPS, then how do you know where it is?" Dipper asked.

"Because I helped create this place. Max... it was his idea. He kinda reminds me of you. Curious, intelligent, always looking for answers." She stood, legs shaking. "Anyways, I'll be leaving for the library in a couple of days, as soon as I make some arrangements." She looked at Stan. "Ummm, I forgot where you keep your phone."

* * *

"Do you really _have_ to go?" Mabel asked, eyes pleading. Celeste had been staying with the Pines family for the past three days, and now she was about to start making her way to what Dipper had started to call "the Secret Library."

To be perfectly honest, Dipper didn't want Celeste to leave either. She knew a TON about the secrets of Gravity Falls, and some secrets about the journal as well. She was also really cool, and more than happy to teach Dipper some techniques he could use to protect himself.

But he didn't want to say goodbye. Which is why he was watching everything from inside the Mystery Shack.

Celeste nodded. "I need to do this, sweetheart. Whoever stole my powers, they can't be good. Unlike Bill, I don't normally make enemies, so they must have something serious planned."

Mabel nodded. A taxi pulled up in front of the porch. Celeste grabbed a backpack that was full of clothes and supplies and started to leave.

"Wait!" Dipper shouted, running out the front door. Celeste... he'd only known her for a couple days, but she'd been so nice to him and Mabel, almost like an older sister. Before he realized what he was doing, he was hugging the former demon.

She knelt down to face Dipper eye-to-eye, handing Dipper a slip of paper. "My cell phone number. I'll use it too keep in touch, ok? Call me whenever you want."

"Really?!"

She smiled. "Of course, kiddo. Be careful, both of you."

Then she left.


	2. Chapter 2- Crying Out

**iPad cookie cake- Thanks! I hope it turns out as well as I have planned.**

 **Hello all! Ok, the thing is, I LOVE writing to music, helps me think. So from now on I'll be posting the the name of a song from my playlist with each chapter. This one's "Into the Darkness" by the Phantoms.**

 **And I realize I forgot this last time, but the only thing I own is Celeste! And her friends...**

* * *

 _Celeste sighed, fiddling with the ship's navigation equipment. Seriously, all this stuff for one dinky little boat? It seemed like overkill to her, then again, humans tended to be paranoid about things they couldn't control- like nature. Or demons, hence the reasons for devils' traps. God, those things were annoying._

 _And- while sunsets were beautiful, they also meant reduced vision for humans. That sucked for her right now._

 _Suddenly, her phone started to vibrate._ Dipper, _she thought with a smile._

 _"Hey, what's up?" she said calmly._

 _"What's going on?! All my calls kept going into voice mail!"_

 _She laughed. "Relax, Dipper. I just went through a patch with no reception, that's all. I'm fine."_

 _"Oh. Did you get a boat?"_

 _"Yeah. The Daydream. I should be at the library tomorrow. You up to anything?"_

 _"Not much. Mabel heard something about a secret cavern behind a waterfall, so we're going into the woods to check it out tomorrow morning." Ford had given the boy a journal of his own for his 13th birthday, and he'd already half-filled the thing with his own observations.  
_

 _"Cool. Well, you can tell me about it next time, all right?"_

 _"Sure. I'll call you tomorrow! Oh, and Mabel wants to say hi next time."_

 _"Ok. Later, Dipper."_

 _She sighed, closing the cheap flip phone. Dipper and Max were so alike it was almost scary. Same thing as Mabel and Sara. Could the past be repeating itself...?_

 _She shook her head vigorously. No, there was no way she'd let that happen again. Once was bad enough. She decided to focus on getting to the Isle of the Lost, where the library was._

* * *

"How's Celeste?" Mabel asked after her brother hung up.

He smiled. "She's on a boat now."

Mabel grinned. "See! I told you she was just fine!"

In the past year, Mabel and Dipper had learned a lot about the secrets of Gravity Falls. They'd dealt with monsters and creatures of all kinds, even ghosts and demons like Bill Cipher. And seeing as they were going to be spending the next 18 months in the town while their parents were overseas, they'd be sure to learn a whole lot more.

And now they were gonna check out a secret room. Dipper grabbed his new journal- this one was dark blue, unlike the author's red ones- and a jacket and he and Mabel ran out into the woods.

Mabel was chattering endlessly during their trek about her friends and latest crushes, as if Dipper wasn't constantly hearing all about them anyways.

Dipper looked at the waterfall. It looked like something out of a fairytale. "I think we're here."

* * *

 _Celeste walked through the halls of the library. She was looking for a very specific book, a book called "Element of Nightmares." She knew exactly where it was located, in a safe at the back of the library. But getting there was another story all together._

 _"I can help you find it," a young woman suggested. She was in her late teens, with forest green eyes and auburn hair in a high ponytail. The only thing odd about the girl was the dragon-like wings sprouting from her back which were black and purple. She was flying behind Celeste, a few feet off the ground._

 _Celeste nodded. "That would be nice, Lioni."_

 _Lioni tilted, rounding the corner. "This way." A few seconds later she asked, "Why do you need the book anyways? Wouldn't it be dangerous to remove it?"_

 _"I'm not taking the book out of the library, don't worry. I'll just learn what I need and-"_

 _She'd opened the safe and it was empty. The book had been stolen._

 _Celeste froze. Something had happened to William. Her day just kept getting better and better._

* * *

~Bill POV~

I... hurt. Everywhere. I felt weak, so terribly, impossibly weak and helpless. Was it a dream? It had to be a dream, I couldn't feel pain. Or anything else, for that matter.

I opened my eyes, groaning. Wait... eyes?I only had one eye, not two. Above me was wood. A ceiling? I was under something. Something was holding me down. I instantly panicked, trying to get the fucking thing off me. I grabbed the item with my hand. Wait a second...

I looked at the body part. That was a human hand. My old hand. "What...?"

I tried to use my powers. Nothing. I looked down to inspect my body. I was perfectly human, in my old body. "SHIT!" I pushed myself up. I was under a blanket, a blue one. I threw it off me, attempting to stand. My legs crumpled beneath me and I fell to the floor. I groaned again. It hurt like hell, but I was half-expecting it

I heard loud footfalls and the door creaking open. From my vantage point I could see four pairs of feet. "You're awake!" I heard a high-pitched voice exclaim. Shooting Star?

Glasses knelt down so he could scoop me up and set me back in the bed. Shooting Star walked up to me. "Hi! My name's Mabel Pines! What's your name? We found you passed out in a cave. What were you doing there?"

I'd almost forgotten how loud and energetic that kid was. "My... name?" Wow, my brain was sluggish. It was like my head had been stuffed with cotton. Wait, they'd never seen my human form. Of course they didn't recognize me. "What do you think my name is, Shooting Star?"

Pine Tree's eyes widened. "Bill Cipher."


	3. Chapter 3- Something's Coming

**iPad cookie cake- The relationship between Celeste and Bill is a bit complex. But it will be defined over the course of the next couple chapters, so just be patient!**

 **Fanfic Tache- That's what I was planning on.**

 **Here we go! This chapter's song is "Angel of Darkness" By Alex C feat. Yasmin K**

* * *

 _Her head hung limply, the only part of her body that wasn't held in position by the chains that suspended her high above the ground, so incredibly, impossibly high it made her dizzy. Of course, that wasn't the only thing she was feeling. She was in so much pain, losing so much blood, she just wanted to close her eyes and sleep. Just make the pain go away.  
_

 _He rose up to her level, lifting her chin to force her to look him in the eyes. "You're not getting out of this, Celestinoratheresaflora,"he sneered, grinning. If she bothered to look around, the situation would have seemed physically impossible, the chains weren't attached to anything, massive clocks and gears floating in the air around her. Then again, anything was possible here.  
_

 _She glared at him. "Of course I will," she said. "I'll wake up, Damian."_

 _He laughed, a psychotic, maniac laugh that made Cipher's laugh seem perfectly sane. "Oh, yes. The waking hours will give you some reprieve, but not much. I'm coming, sister, and when I do, you will spend eternity like this, along with that pathetic Bill Cipher."  
_

* * *

~Dipper POV~

"Bill Cipher," I whispered, the realization hitting me like a truckload of bricks. We'd helped Bill Cipher, taken him into our home.

"Got that right, Pine Tree."

"What are you doing here, Bill?" Grunkle Ford demanded. "Who did you possess and why?"

Bill snorted. "Relax, Sixer. I didn't possess anyone. It looks like someone took my powers and shoved me back into my old meatsack."

"Your old body?" I asked. "Does that mean you were human once?"

"Not gonna answer that one."

Suddenly, my cellphone started to ring. I answered. "What's up, Celeste?"

 _"Something happened to Cipher, didn't it?"_

The Grunkles looked like they were about to say something. I held up one hand. "Yeah. He's right here. He said someone stole his powers."

She swore. _"Great, just great. How's he doing?"_

I shrugged. "He was out for almost two days, but he just woke up."

 _"Can he walk?"_

"Dunno."

 _"Then ask him."_

I had no idea why it was important, but I asked anyways. "Hey, Bill, Celeste wants to know if you can walk." He just shrugged. "He shrugged."

 _"Hmmm. I think the person who stole my powers probably went after him as well. "_

"Are you serious?!"

 _"Yeah."_ She sighed. _"Listen, I should be at the Mystery Shack in about two hours. Keep an eye on Cipher until I get there, and make sure your uncles don't hurt him, okay? Oh, and make sure he doesn't get up."_

"Sure. I don't exactly see why, though."

 _"I need to examine him when I get there. He should be able to give me an idea of who we're dealing with. Hurting him would mess with the data."_

"Oh. Then, I guess I'll see you when you get here." She hung up. I looked at everyone. "Celeste's on her way here. She said to keep an eye on Bill, and not to hurt him or let him get out of bed."

"WHAT?!" Everyone seemed shocked.

"Why should we have to babysit that Dorrito?!" Grunkle Stan asked.

"Umm.."

"I don't need anyone to watch me!" Bill protested. "And I'm not a Dorrito!"

"Celeste said-"

"You're yellow and triangle-shaped! Or would you rather I called you a tortilla chip?" Stan countered.

"GUYS!" I shouted, finally getting their attention. They looked at me.

"What?" Bill asked snidely.

"Listen, Celeste said Bill might be able to help her get an idea of who we're dealing with. Hurting him would mess with her data, and we need to make sure he stays here. Okay?"

Everyone muttered their agreement. Grunkle Stan left to deal with the Mystery Shack, and Grunkle Ford went down to his study, leaving me and Mabel to keep an eye on Bill.

Mabel decided to work on bedazzling another sweater and I decided to try and finish a mystery novel I was reading. I'd look up every so often to make sure Bill was still sitting on the couch like he was supposed to be.

"I'm bored," Bill complained after a while. "Give me something to do."

"We're not your servants," I said.

"You can help me bedazzle my sweater," Mabel suggested.

Bill made a face. "No way."

We all heard the front door slam shut. A few seconds later, the door to the spare room we were in swung open and Celeste stepped inside.

"Celeste!" Mabel shouted, running up to give her a hug.

Celeste hugged her back. "Hey kiddo." She looked at Bill. "Do you remember what happened to you? I'll know if you're lying."

Bill shrugged. "I was summoned into a devil's trap. Couldn't see who it was, I just heard some weird chanting and I blacked out. Next thing I knew, I was here."

Celeste nodded. "I'm going to need to do an examination."

"Should we leave?" Mabel asked.

"You don't have to. I'm not gonna make him take off his clothes or anything." She knelt next to the couch and placed her hands- which started to glow softly- on Bill's arm and closed her eyes.

"Man, they were rough," she muttered. "Still paralyzed... but they're thorough. There's no evidence of you ever being a demon. Hmmm..." Her eyes opened. "Your body's very weak. You should rest."

"But I'm not tired!" Bill protested. He yawned.

She smiled. "Sleep." Bill's eyes slowly closed and he was fast asleep in seconds. She stood up and looked at us. "You should go get your uncles."

"What about Bill?" I asked. I was still worried he might try something.

"He'll be asleep for a couple hours. Right now, we have a lot to talk about."


	4. Chapter 4- Prepare To Fight

**CheezeLuver2656- Glad you liked it**

 **Fanfic Tache- Wow. Never thought I was that good, glad you think so. Don't worry, Bill and Dipper will get a private conversation in another chapter or two. And Celeste is a purple 7-poined star.  
**

 **I'm pretty much gonna write the rest of this to "Renegades" by X Ambassadors.  
**

 ***Bows* Enjoy! Also, me uploading two chapters in one day is likely gonna be a rare event, seeing as my college courses start next week.  
**

* * *

They all met up in the kitchen. Celeste offered to make everyone dinner.

Ford walked into the room. "Celeste! It's been a while." Ford never seemed to be where Celeste was while she was with them a couple days ago, and didn't even know she'd been there in the first place.

Celeste smiled. "It has. Glad to see you're back."

"You two know each other?" Dipper asked.

Celeste nodded. "After McGucket quit, I was the one that helped him hide the journals." Ford and Celeste's eyes met. "We were good friends."

"So what's going on, exactly?" Stan asked.

Celeste set a bowl of pasta on the table. "There's a lot." She looked at Ford. "Remember when I told you about Damian?"

Ford nodded. "Bill's boss? Yeah, I remember. Didn't you say you trapped him in the Nightmare Dimension using some book? I think it was called the 'Element of Nightmares' or something."

She nodded. "I used the book to make sure he stayed in the Nightmare Dimension. As long as the book was never removed from the Nightmare Dimension, Damian could never interfere with this world. But the book's been stolen, likely by the same person that stole my powers. And Cipher's."

"Who's Damian?" Dipper asked, starting to eat.

"My older brother. Also known as King of Nightmares, Master of Darkness, that sort of thing. He controls the Nightmare Realm, and Bill's been trying to free Damian and his army to unleash it on this world."

"And we're just gonna let Bill sleep in the next room?!" Stan demanded. "He's helping the enemy!"

"It's not his fault!" Celeste shouted. Then she whispered, "Damian, the things he did to Cipher... he hurt him. Tormented him. Bill's mind is not entirely his own. Most of it belongs to my brother. If... if we could free him, he could help us."

"What do we need to do?" Mabel asked, excited.

"You don't seriously think we can change Bill, do you?!" Dipper asked.

"Just look at what he's done, that we actually know about," Stan agreed. "How do we know it's even possible?"

"We have to try!" Mabel countered. She looked at Celeste.

The woman sighed. "It would have to be a team effort. I'd have to work on undoing the spells Damian's used, but I'd need someone else to go into Cipher's mind and free the real Cipher."

"I'll go," Dipper offered.

"You're not going in there, kid," Stan protested. "It's too dangerous."

"It's his choice," Celeste said. "But he doesn't have to go in alone."

"I could come!" Mabel said. "And we could get Soos and Wendy to come, too!"

"They already went home," Stan pointed out.

Celeste shrugged. "We won't be doing it right away. I'm gonna need to gather some supplies, which could take a while." She stood, putting her dishes in the sink. "Well, I'm gonna keep an eye on Bill for the time being. I'll be in the spare room if you need me."

* * *

~Dipper POV~

"Whaddya think she needs?" Mabel asked while we were getting ready for bed. "Think she'll let us come?"

"I dunno. Maybe she will," I said. I was thinking about a lot of things. Bill... what he did, was it really his fault? When he was free, could we actually trust him? And, what happened between him and Celeste? Every time I tried to ask her about it, she changed the subject or gave me some vague answer. If I asked Bill, would he tell me the truth?

I decided I was going to talk to Celeste about it. Maybe she'd finally give me some answers. "I'm gonna talk to Celeste," I told Mabel, who was deciding on what she was going to wear tomorrow.

The house was dark. Grunkle Stan was probably asleep, and Grunkle Ford was probably still in his study. A dim light was coming out from under the spare room's closed door. I opened it slowly. Bill and Celeste were both asleep, Celeste having fallen asleep with her head on Bill.

I decided to take a good look at Bill's human form. He looked like he wasn't much older than me, maybe 14 or 15, and Mabel and I would be 14 in August. His hair was blonde and kinda messy, with bangs covering his left eye. He looked skinny, delicate, fragile, nothing like the dream demon that had terrorized me for the past year.

Celeste was muttering something in her sleep. "No... stop it... you can't do this... NO!" she shouted, waking up. Her shout woke up Bill as well.

Bill rubbed his eyes. "Wha's goin' on?" He asked drowsily. "Wha time is it?"

"Are you okay?" I asked Celeste.

She focused on Bill first. "Go back to sleep," she said softly. He obeyed, closing his eyes again. She looked at me. "It's all right. Just a nightmare, that's all."

"What about?"

"You know how Cipher can go into dreams? Well, he doesn't get it from me. He gets that from Damian."


	5. Chapter 5- Searching For the Light

**Wow! It's really cool that everyone seems to like my fic! I think I should probably mention that I was planning to make this fic the start to a series. This is just the beginning of a MUCH bigger plot, believe me.**

 **iPad cookie cake- you might have to wait a while for that, but it will happen in this fic. At some point :)**

 **Fanfic Tache- Yummy!**

 **BTW, this chapter is a long one. My longest yet! But there's a lot of revelations...  
**

* * *

Dipper tried to fight back a yawn as he brushed his teeth. He'd stayed up pretty late talking to Celeste, figuring out what their plans were. Which is why he was sure not to sleep in too late today. She was going to a town between dimensions to get some of the supplies she needed, and she said anyone who was up and ready to go when she was could come with her.

Surprisingly, Mabel was ready first. She was already talking to Celeste when he walked into the spare room. Bill was awake as well, reading one of Dipper's mystery novels. She looked up. "Is everyone ready to go?"

"Yup!" Mabel cheered. Bill nodded.

"Wait, is Bill coming?" Dipper asked, surprised.

"Yes. There's no way I'm leaving him with your uncles," she said."That would be a recipie for disaster."

"Didn't you say he was paralyzed?" Dipper countered. "Are you gonna carry him around or something?"

Celeste snorted. "Of course not!" She snapped her fingers and a wheelchair materialized in front of them. Celeste turned to Bill and picked him up, placing him in the wheelchair. She placed her hands on the handles and turned to face the door. "Well, here we go!"

As if on cue, a swirling purple vortex replaced the open doorway. "Run through the portal," Celeste commented, running at the vortex. "It makes things easier!"

* * *

~Dipper POV~

I groaned, opening my eyes. My head hurt, but other than that, I was pretty much okay. It was dark, a pitch-black sky above me. From where I was, it looked like I was between two buildings, maybe in an alleyway.

I sat up. I was laying on a long wooden crate, and I _was_ in an alley. Mabel was passed out on another crate, Bill was asleep in the wheelchair, the only one awake was Celeste. Her outfit had changed, from jeans and a hoodie to some kind of uniform. It was a white long-sleeved high-collared military-like shirt with black edges with black pants and a white hooded cloak. She looked distant, like she was deep in thought or trying to remember something important.

I coughed, trying to get her attention. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at me. "Dipper! You sure woke up fast, most humans tend to sleep for a while."

I shrugged. "What's with your clothes?"

She looked down. "These? It was my uniform back in the military. I wanted to... I wanted to remember... things I'd always been trying to forget."

"You were in the military?"

She nodded. "Damian and I both were. It was how I found Cipher- or rather, how he found me." She sighed. "I had some places I wanted to visit here, but I was hoping I'd be alone." She smiled. "But you came along, so I guess I'll go some other time."

"What if you and me went to do what you needed to do, and-"

She nodded. "There's a shopping district that I'm sure Mabel would _love._ She and Bill could go together."

"Yeah."

 _later..._

We split up after everyone was awake. Bill seemed to know where the shopping district was (had he been here before?) and Celeste and I were walking through the city streets. It seemed kind of old-fashioned, like something out of a fairy tale. "What is this place, exactly? And, what's it's name?"

Celeste sighed. "Long ago, before Earth existed, there was a different world in it's place. It was a nice world, but the two main species were constantly fighting each other for control. Eventually, their fighting lead to a creation of a weapon that ripped their world to shreds. This town- at least the buildings- is what's left. The people died with the world, but the city remained. Other people from other dimensions came here over time and made it what it is today. Most people call it Everstar, but the original inhabitants used to call it Kialeurora, after the morning star."

"Did you used to live here?"

She nodded. She stopped in front of a house. "We're here." It was a three-story building with a shop on the ground floor and a balcony on the top two floors. She opened the door, setting off the bell placed above it.

A young man behind the counter looked up as we walked in. "Theresa! It's good to see you!"

"Theresa? I thought your name was Celeste."

She sighed. "My full name's Celestinoratheresaflora, so people just call me by some part of that. Except Damian. That guy always uses the entire mouthful." She looked at the man. "Nice to see you too, Alex. I need to get something upstairs, that okay?"

He raised his hands. "You know I don't touch your stuff. Go ahead."

She looked back at me. "Come on." She led me to a staircase in the back and we started to head up to the top floor. It was dark, Celeste fumbled around until she found a light switch.

With the lights on, it was easy to see that no one had been up there in years. Everything was covered with a thick layer of dust. The floor was an apartment for someone, the lower level was probably the same. We were standing in a living room, with a couple of couches and a fireplace to the back. The kitchen was in full view, perfectly clean and there were doorways leading to two bedrooms and a bathroom.

"I need to get something from the bedroom," Celeste said. "I'll just be a minute."

"Ok." She vanished into one of the bedrooms. I noticed a picture frame on top of the fireplace. I stepped closer to get a better look.

 _It's so dusty. I can't see anything._ I wiped the glass with my sleeve. Now I could see who was in it- it was Celeste and Bill and a boy that looked like an older version of Bill. Bill was in a wheelchair, and Celeste and the other boy were both in military uniforms like the one Celeste was wearing now. It looked like it was a candid shot, with the two older demons laughing while Bill blushed.

"See anything interesting?" Celeste asked, startling me.

I looked at her. "I wasn't trying to pry, I swear!"

Celeste laughed. "I half-expected to find you here, so don't worry."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Celeste put the picture back on top of the fireplace.

"Who's the other person?" I asked.

"Him? That's Damian." She sighed. "Back then, we were both in the military. And Cipher... he was like a little brother to me. After our world was destroyed we survived, but we lost our physical forms. I was able to regain mine over time, after I found Earth, at least." She picked up another photo. It looked like it was Bill's birthday or something. "When I saw what Damian did to Cipher, it scared me. He's not quite as insane as he used to be, but Damian's hold on him is still strong."

She looked up. "Well! Let's get going, shall we?"


	6. Chapter 6- Discussions

**Okaaay, here we go! Fanfic Tache, this chapter's for you! By the way, thanks for the cyber cupcakes!**

* * *

 _Someone ruffled his hair. He looked up to see a pair of dark blue eyes grinning at him. "Whatcha reading, Will?" She said picking up the book, ignoring his attempts to get it back. "Heroes and Thieves? Sounds interesting."_

 _"Give it back, Celeste!" he finally demanded._

 _She laughed. "C'mon, Will. I bet you've been reading since the moment I left for training. I think that's enough for today. Let's go do something!"_

 _"Like what?"_

 _"Dunno. The festival's starting tomorrow, I hear some pretty crazy things happen during preparations."_

 _"Celeste..."_

 _She smiled, messing up his hair even more. "I'm kidding. I was thinking we could go out for dinner, maybe catch a movie. Didn't you want to see that space-alien one? Galactic Odyssey or something like that."_

~Bill POV~

 _Something stabbed me and my eye snapped open. I was floating above a scorched plain, all alone. The sky was blood-red and small fires were all that could be seen on the landscape._

 _Suddenly, a large yellow eye appeared in front of me. You'll never get away from me, it said._

 _"Yes I will!" I shouted. "You can't control me forever!"_

 _You have been my slave for thousands of years, what makes you think that you can be free now?_

"...wake up!"

I opened my eyes. Celeste was hovering over me. "You're gonna miss breakfast, kiddo. And I made pancakes, too..." She pouted.

"I'm awake," I said. She grinned, helping me into the wheelchair. She pushed me into the kitchen, where everyone else was eating. Shooting Star was already putting away her dishes.

"Ready to go?" Celeste asked. She nodded.

"Wait, where are you guys going?" Pine Tree asked.

"The Temple of Night," Celeste and Shooting Star both said.

"Why didn't you guys tell me?!" Pine Tree asked. "I wanna come!"

"Trust me, Pine Tree, you don't. Not unless you want to end up as some small animal, probably a ferret. The priestesses have a thing for ferrets. And rabbits."

"Small animal?"

Celeste nodded. "Yeah. The temple priestesses turn any males that enter into a small animal. You're gonna stay here and keep an eye on Cipher, okay?"

The fact that she wasn't even using my first name stung. Guess she was still pretty mad at me for what I did in the past.

We both nodded. "Okay."

~Dipper POV~

Celeste and Mabel left through a portal after cleaning up the kitchen. Grunkle Ford retreated into the study, and Grunkle Stan went to handle the Mystery Shack and we weren't to bother him unless it was a REAL emergency.

"So... what do you want to do?" Bill asked.

"I dunno. Normally I'd help out at the mystery shack or go on a monster hunt with Mabel."

He groaned. "Great. So we're just gonna sit here or something?"

I shrugged. My mind flashed back to the first time Celeste had appeared. I grinned. "I have an idea."

"Should I be worried?"

"Probably not. Celeste was teaching me and Mabel how to cook last time, and I was thinking we could try to make dinner for everyone."

"First of all- it's ten o'clock in the morning, way to early to get started. Second- what are we gonna make, and do we even have the ingredients?"

"Well, it's good to at least start planning now, in case we need to go into town to buy something. And I already know what we're gonna make- spaghetti and meatballs."

Bill sighed. "Whatever." He followed me back into the kitchen.

I pulled out a notepad. "Okay, we should probably do more than just spaghetti. How about garlic bread and a salad? Those seem easy." I walked over to the counter. Celeste wrote down the recipes for everything she showed me and Mabel how to make. I grinned, pulling out the note card, copying down the ingredients.

"All right... noodles... spaghetti sauce... ground meat... instant oatmeal... basil... oregano... salt... pepper," I looked up. "We're gonna need salad veggies for sure, and bread and garlic butter." I started searching the kitchen. "We don't have anything we need!"

"So we're going to the store, huh?" Bill asked. "That might be a bit of a trip with my wheelchair."

"We can take the golf cart," I said. "Your wheelchair folds up, right? We can put it in the back."

He nodded. "Okay. That'll make carrying groceries easier." As she had the day before, Celeste had given Bill and me money to use on whatever if we got bored.

We got lost in the grocery store- Bill had never been there, and we were looking for things Grunkle Stan never bought- but in the end we walked out of the grocery store with everything we needed.

Bill looked at the clock after we got back. "It's noon. How long will it take to make dinner?"

"An hour, maybe hour and a half if we work together. So that means we don't need to get started for... a while. Three and a half hours."

"UGH! WAITING IS SO BORING!" Bill complained.

We ended up watching TV while we waited. After I showed Bill what to do- provided he didn't stab himself, he could make the salad- we worked in awkward silence.

But I had some questions I couldn't hold in anymore. "Bill, how did you become a demon?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Humans and demons were always fighting each other in the old world. Celeste found me after a battle. I'd been born paralyzed from the waist down, and couldn't really get to help. She didn't want to abandon me- I was dying, and I was three years old- but she couldn't take a _human_ home. So she gave me some of her power, and I became a demon."

"What did Damian do to you, exactly?"

He looked down. It looked like what ever happened, hurt a lot. "I don't want to talk about it." He looked at me. "I never really wanted to hurt you guys. But Damian... he made me do it. I couldn't disobey him."

Somehow, I believed he was telling the truth. "It's okay. We'll free you, and then you'll be 100% on our side."

He looked at me. He looked scared. "What if we can't do it? What if... what if I'll never be free? What if Damian makes me hurt you guys again, even kill you?"

Bill was actually not that bad, when he wasn't being a total jerk. I hated to admit it, but I'd started to think of him as almost a friend. I smiled at him. "Don't worry, we _will_ do it. I promise."


	7. Revelation

**Fanfic Tache- what if I put us in a different fic? Then I'd not have to mess with the plot I've spent a lot of time creating...**

 **Okay guys, here we go!**

* * *

When Mabel stepped through the portal, she was in another world. She was high above the ground- probably, if there was an actual ground- with islands floating in the sky alongside the clouds. Many of the islands were connected through long, thin wooden bridges and some of the islands had ruins on them. Mabel and Celeste were on one such island. "This is amazing!" Mabel shouted. "Dipper would love this! Too bad he couldn't come..."

Celeste laughed. "Actually, I said that so they'd stay home."

"But Bill said-"

"I told him that centuries ago. Kept him away." She sighed, looking at the ruins. "After our world crumbled, Damian and I were so powerful we ended up making new ones. This one was mine."

"What happened?" Mabel asked.

"Time. Don't worry, there are still people in this world, just not over here. And no, there isn't any actual ground, just water about two miles below the lowest island."

"Oh. Why couldn't Dipper come along?"

"Because I needed to talk to you, alone."

"About what?" Mabel asked.

"You'll know when we get there." She led Mabel to what looked like a ruined Greco-Roman temple. She sighed, looking around at the various statues of a woman. "You know, it's really not as amazing as people think, being worshiped."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Kind of annoying, actually. But we're not here because of that. We're here because of this-" she pointed at a fresco on the wall of Mabel and Celeste.

Mabel's eyes widened, seeing what was happening in the painting. "Oh. My. God. This, this can't be real, right?"

Celeste knelt next to the preteen. "It is real, Mabel. Would you like me to explain?"

* * *

"And, that's that," Celeste said an hour later. She held a water bottle out to Mabel. "Thirsty?"

Mabel took the bottle. "Thanks." She took a swig. "I still can't believe it."

"I know." She stood. "But there's no point dwelling on what's to come, right? We still need to get water from the fountain." She held up a crystal flask. "Well, come on."

* * *

Mabel and Celeste cleaned up the kitchen after everyone finished the dinner Dipper and Bill made. Celeste turned on the radio.

 _"Call the doctor, call the doctor, must be something wrong with me_

 _"He's a monster, why do I want ya? Please tell me, please tell me"_

Mabel knew the music was to keep anyone from hearing the conversation. They worked in silence before Celeste said anything.

 _"Is he human? Does it matter?_

 _I know he's what I'm after_

 _I can reel him from disaster_

 _I know (I, I know)"_

"Listen, Mabel, you don't have to do this," Celeste said. "I know how hard it'll be on you. Dipper, too."

 _"Call the doctor, call the doctor_

 _Must be something wrong with me"_

"Yes I do," Mabel protested. "It's the only way, isn't it?"

 _"He's a monster, why do I want ya?_

 _Please tell me, please tell me"_

"That we know of," Celeste said.

 _"But I love him, yeah I love him, oh ah, oh ah ah"_

"Then that's what I'm going to do."

 _"Call the doctor, call the doctor,_

 _Must be something wrong with me_

 _He's a monster, why do I want ya?_

 _Please tell me, please tell me"_


End file.
